Basketball Game Preview: Northview Academy Cougars vs. Sevier County Smoky Bears

The Northview Academy Cougars are taking a road trip to take on the Sevier County Smoky Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Northview Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Tennessee's top teams: Cocke County, who was ranked 19th at the time (Northview Academy was ranked sixth). Northview Academy fell 45-35 to Cocke County on Tuesday. The match marked the Cougars' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Meanwhile, Sevier County came tearing into Tuesday's game with 12 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They snuck past the Mountaineers with a 56-50 victory.

Northview Academy's loss ended a seven-game streak of away wins and brought them to 21-3. As for Sevier County, they pushed their record up to 21-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road.

Northview Academy didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Sevier County in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 52-47 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northview Academy since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.